It’s been a lengthy mid-season hiatus for the Rockyview Knights.
But nearly four weeks since their last league game, the Airdrie-based senior B men’s lacrosse team will finally return to the floor this Saturday night, to face off against the Beaumont Outlaws at the Plainsmen Arena in Airdrie.
“It’s going to be difficult to overcome a month’s break,” admitted Knights head coach Gareth Barley. “We’ve had some practices in between here and there, but we’ll see how the first game back goes. It’s a bit of a reset.
“It could be good. We had a few guys with a couple of injuries who have had time to heal and they’re back.”
The Knights opened the 2022 Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League (RMLL) schedule with five games in the first half of May, posting three wins and two defeats. But since their last game on May 15 against the Fort Saskatchewan Rebels – a game Rockyview won 7-6 – the Knights have had nearly a month off from competitive action.
Thanks to their heavily congested start to the 2022 season, the Knights enjoyed a few weeks at the top of the senior B RMLL table in early May, courtesy of their 3-2-0 record.
An early-season highlight included beating the St. Albert Miners – perennially one of the top senior B teams in both Alberta and Canada – by a 6-3 score line on May 8.
Though the Miners were missing some of their best players who were still playing with teams in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) at the time, Barley said that shouldn’t take away from the Knights’ accomplishment of beating St. Albert, who are currently at the top of the table with a 4-1-1 record.
“We played a strong defensive game, and we were missing players as well,” Barley said.
The Knights’ triumph over St. Albert was preceded by an 11-7 win over the Outlaws on May 7 and followed by a 7-6 defeat to the Rebels on May 14.
Nearly half-way through what is a condensed regular season, Barley noted how much parity there has been in the RMLL this year. Three points separate the top four teams and the fifth-place Outlaws are the only senior B side still seeking their first win of the campaign.
“Looking at the standings after today, everyone is bumped ahead of us in the standings and we have games in hand on all three teams ahead of us,” Barley said.
“We’re still in fourth place. We’re one point out of third and two points out of second, so if we win this weekend, we’re back in second. That’s where we want to be – in the top two positions in the league instead of the bottom three. We’ll just have to come out prepared and ready to go.”
One key factor to consider as the Knights prepare for their return to league action is that all five of the team’s games thus far have been at home. Of their seven remaining fixtures, only two will be held in Airdrie.
Given the late end to the 2022 NLL season, Barley said the Knights still have a few prospects who can join the team once the professional league is officially wrapped up – though he didn’t want to give away who those newcomers could be.
“We have irons in the fire, we’re just waiting on commitments from these guys,” he said. “We’re hoping to have Dan Taylor back from the Roughnecks, who played with us last year.
“With it being a President’s Cup year in Alberta, I kind of want to leave the wool over everyone’s eyes until it’s finalized before throwing names out there of people who are potentially going to join us.”
Airdrie lacrosse fans will have to be ready for a late night of cheering on the team this weekend, as the Knights’ Saturday match-up with the Outlaws will not begin until 8:30 p.m. at the Plainsmen Arena.
Even though Beaumont hasn't won a game yet this season, Barley stressed the Knights will have to take the visitors seriously.
“Even the Outlaws in last place, they’re not losing by many goals and they’re giving everyone a run for their money,” he said. “We don’t want to give them their first win.”
